Shadow of fire
by AssasinNinja
Summary: Few people knew the Kage even existed anymore. Most thought the well being of the kingdom was guaranteed by a well-maintained militia, and a council of elders. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. Naru/Saku
1. Chapter 1

Twas midday, and the sun shone down on a village hidden by the leaves like it did at midday every other summer's day.

Except today, an extra shadow fell on the citizens of the Hidden Leaf. The shadow originated from the village's tallest building, the one closest to the sun. The shadow was cast by a man in a hooded red and white robe. The ceremonial robe of the Hokage. Under the hood, the last Uzumaki's eyes surveyed the streets of his home.

True, the title of Kage had changed a lot since he was a child, in fact it bore little resemblance to the almost completely political position of his youth.

Few people knew the Kage even existed anymore. Most thought the well being of the kingdom was guaranteed by a well-maintained militia, and a council of elders.

That couldn't have been farther from the truth.

As a man, Uzumaki no longer had use for jutsu, he could will chakra into being with thought alone, crafting weapons, shields, explosions, even creatures. All with the malevolent energy that swirled inside his body.

That was the main thing that separated the Kage of today from the Kage of yesterday, they were all Jinchuriki, and the Hokage was the strongest.

More than anything, the perception the village had of Junchuriki had changed since the last war. They had gone from destructive burdens to silent protectors, and it was there, that the once haunted souls of the vessels of the tailed beasts found their true calling.

Now, Uzumaki shared his mind almost exclusively with the now docile tailed-beast inside him. Sometimes he couldn't distinguish the demon's thoughts from his own.

Which was both good and bad. Good, because it offered him a second opinion and second set of eyes when he needed it. Bad, because he often found cynical and misanthropic judgments seeping into his conversations.

_There,_ his target; tall man, long hair, dark clothes, and a hand-woven straw hat. A flash of light reflected from what could only be a weapon emerging from his long sleeve. Uzumaki had to move now.

A hawk cawed as the Hokage sprinted off the building, his foot kicked the edge and he rolled as he hit the building below it. Running and jumping at full speed, he covered several blocks in a matter of minutes. Without hesitation he threw himself into the crowd, tackling his target's intended victim, and shielding her from view.

"What the hell-"

"Shh... You're being followed."

"You have two seconds to get off of me or-"

"Please, trust me on this."

"I-"

Uzumaki clamped his hand around the woman's mouth, muffling her. Several people tripped past them, cursing as they did so, but not stopping their routine to wonder why a grown man in a thick cloak was lying on the ground.

"An Assassin is trying to kill you, I don't know why... but I promise that if you follow my instruction... I know you think you can handle yourself... this isn't your typical shinobi. Just do what I say, and you'll be-"

She threw Uzumaki off with a force unrivaled by most living ninja, but he was prepared for this. Landing on his feet, he took off after the fleeing woman.

"Wait! Please! It's not safe!"

The sea of people quickly hid the less than tall woman, but her would be assassin was more than visible, he was staring right at the Hokage.

They stared at each other for several seconds, then a bob of pink hair rose up above the waves for a moment. They both sped after her.

A protector and a murderer. The only thing keeping each from doing their job was how much faster the other one was than them.

Meanwhile their target had tripped and fallen to the ground, looking up just in time to see the assassin thrust a menacing blade toward her from above.

In half a second, Sakura Haruno's life flashed before her eyes. In 12 hundred milliseconds, Uzumaki's kunai had found its mark, and the would be killer lay dead on the streets of the hidden leaf. In a few seconds more the Hokage had dropped a smoke bomb and thrown the dead assassin over his shoulder.

"Follow me."

This time, Sakura listened to him.

* * *

><p>"In here," It had taken mere moments for Uzumaki to lead Sakura to a seemingly abandoned warehouse. Sakura had followed him silently until now, but having the privacy of the indoors, she spoke.<p>

"Who are you?"

The warehouse had a door at the far end, and the Hokage led Sakura through.

"As far as you know, Konoha stopped having a hokage years ago."

On the other side of the door was a small room with tables and shelves littered with weapons and scrolls.

"Yeah I know, a friend of mine didn't take too kindly to that."

"Well, what you know isn't true. The village still maintains a hokage, all the villages do."

Uzumaki dropped the dead body on a table, then stared at Sakura from under his hood.

"What you're about to here is of the utmost secrecy. You cannot tell anyone about this... do you understand?"

Sakura nodded at him, her eyes held both innocence and the hardened look of a warrior. From past experience, he knew he could trust her... but now he could tell she trusted him as well.

He explained the present role of the kages in society, leaving out a few facts that would reveal to her his identity.

"I am the Hokage... It is my job to protect this village, and all who inhabit it."

Sakura looked at him, disbelief in her eyes... but she nodded nonetheless.

"Now," the Hokage spake, "Let's get you home."


	2. Chapter 2

**A heartfelt thanks for all those who appreciated this** **little idea, I'll strive to keep it going for your sake! ;)**

Twas past nightfall when Sakura Haruno finally laid her head to rest on her cool pillow. She had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to wrap her head around the Hokage's story, and it was dusk by the time she left his warehouse.

Her mind was racing, she hadn't had so much excitement in her life since before the last war. All her living teammates had retired, and any missions she now took as a medic were mostly routine and often boring.

However this new man in her life... this mystery, brought back some nostalgia from before the war, and she welcomed it with open arms.

She almost forgot to set her alarm for breakfast with Naruto, almost.

* * *

><p>It was five am when Naruto Uzumaki walked up the stairs to the roof of his apartment building.<p>

Once he reached the roof, he threw off his shoes and his shirt and plopped down in a rusty green lawn chair, dipping his feet into a half filled kiddie pool. He had three and a half hours before he had to get ready to meet Sakura for breakfast, and he planned on getting a little rest before then. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the malevolent energy swirl violently inside him.

It was like someone injected him with icy fire. He felt like a god, like he was in control of all those around him, all of his surroundings, everything he could see was his for the taking.

No, this power was not his to keep. He forced the energy out of his body, and it was soaked in by everything in the vicinity, bringing new life to wilting plants, aging animals, and polluted sky. The release left Naruto feeling calm, relieved and clear headed. He knew that allowing himself to retain such limitless power would ultimately destroy him and everything he held dear. Whether that was literally or figuratively, he didn't care, it came down to complete and total alienation from every principle he upheld. He knew the code, he had taken the oath, and he wasn't about to let selfish desire turn him into something he wasn't.

Something he never would be.

He was antsy now, his eyes could only stay closed for a few more minutes before he had to get up and moving. The release of the influx of power that the Jinchuriki referred to as the quickening, had left him restless. He stood up slowly, and walked to the corner of the roof. He dug through a pile of battered and broken training weapons before picking out a child's boken. The handle was wrapped in leather so old it was probably treated with urine a few times.

It had been awhile since he had trained with it last, but in a few seconds he reacquainted himself with its weight, its center of balance, even its microscopic curvature.

But after about a half hour of training, he threw the boken back into the pile and closed his hands. He shut his eyes, and let the swirling malevolence find its way to a release point in his palms, then he focused it into an exact replica of the boken, except instead of wood, it was crafted from pure, spiraling, red and black energy.

It felt and moved exactly like the boken in Naruto's hands, but when he hit something with it, it created more damage than even a fully sharpened katana could. Of course he didn't actually have to hit anything with it, he knew from experience what catastrophic destruction the malevolence could cause. So, instead of testing out his energy boken on one of the many straw dummies that stood scattered throughout the rooftop, he just allowed it to dissipate into the air, letting the power be absorbed by life everywhere.

The malevolence was too much for anyone person to handle. That was why Jinchuriki were the only ones who could possess it. In the Hokage's instance, the Kyubi was to weak to retain it and Naruto was too kind-heated, so they used their combined will to steer the malevolence, to direct it. Over years they had mastered it, and the malevolence was available to them at almost a third of it's power, enough to make any of Naruto's old adversaries quiver in their boots. He was on a whole other plain now, and in comparison to the Naruto who had fought in the last war,

Uzumaki was a god.

He didn't let that go to his head though, the kages still had no idea where the malevolence came from and didn't take it for granted. After all it could disappear at a moments notice, leaving the kages both very vulnerable and very human.

He sat back down on the lawn chair, and dipped his feet in the kiddie pool once more. All the thoughts of responsibility and vulnerability had reminded him of yesterday's conflict involving Sakura. He knew that without the malevolence powering his legs he never would have caught up to the assassin in time... he was just too damn quick. That made him sigh, than he looked at the alarm clock that stood on a stack of books a few feet from the chair, and that made him sigh even more. He had either completely lost track of time or fallen asleep longer than he thought he did. Sakura would be coming up to meet him for breakfast in only a few minutes, he didn't have any time to get ready. So he pulled a second lawn chair from under the pile of weapons and positioned it next to his, a perfect distance from the cooling liquid of the kiddie pool.

And then, Sakura walked out of the door to the stairway.

"Good morning..." Breakfast together had become a weekly ritual after the end of the last war, usually on Thursday; the anniversary of the last day their team fought together, Sakura would bring ramen up to Naruto's roof. They would talk and laugh, and deeply miss the old times. Sakura held a bag in her outstretched hand, it no doubt had two hot cups of ramen in it, "Hungry?"

But right then Naruto couldn't care less about the ramen, looking at Sakura right then, she seemed to glow happiness she hadn't felt in years. It touched his heart, and for a moment he couldn't speak. Instead he smiled at her, and she smiled back, then she took a seat on the lawn chair next to his. Then she patted Naruto on the thigh, and his temperature skyrocketed.

"How have you been Naruto?"

God, sometimes he hated what that woman could do to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome Back,**

Twas true, Naruto had never stopped loving Sakura. 4 long years as teammates, and his heart never stopped longing for her. She didn't know his feelings persisted, it took great willpower to prevent himself from giving into his temptation, and a single touch or glance was often enough to drive him insane.

But he always managed to keep his cool, and life was better for that. Because although he would love Sakura until the day he died, he knew she would never care for him in the same way he cared for her. So he kept silent, and they remained the closest of friends.

"You plan on talking to me at all today?" Sakura asked.

"I'm sorry Sakura, how are you?" Naruto was sweating, and the breeze hit the moisture on his bare skin, chilling him to the bone. He visibly shivered, and he caught Sakura staring at his bare torso. Their eyes met and she turned away blushing.

"I'm fine," She answered, "I've been really busy at the hospital, but I haven't had any missions lately so everything's been pretty..."

She hesitated for a moment, and her eyes flashed with remembrance. She shook it off than finished her statement.

"...Relaxing."

Naruto wasn't trying extra hard to observe the nuances in Sakura's actions... but since he knew the cause of the oddities it was hard not to notice them. She had deeply enjoyed her near assassination yesterday, or rather being rescued from it, and she was broadcasting it clear as day.

Of course one who didn't know about yesterday's events would just assume Sakura was being cheerful for some other reason, so Naruto feigned that same ignorance. However there was no ignoring Sakura's blatant checking out of Naruto's abs... that was certainly interesting.

"How's retired life treating you?"

Naruto yawned before speaking, then reiterated the everyday boredom of not being a ninja. There breakfasts usually lasted till the sun was at the highest point in the sky, then Sakura would leave to go to the hospital, and Naruto would retreat to his room. Today was like usual, except on her way out, Sakura kissed Naruto on the cheek.

"Naruto... You've always been a great friend... and I'm sorry things didn't work out between us."

Naruto stared at his feet.

"Yeah, me too."

Sakura gave him a sad smile than patted him on the cheek.

Naruto closed the door after she left, and leaned against it for a little while. He was more upset than ever. Whether it was the fact that the Hokage could make Sakura more happy than Naruto Uzumaki could, or that Sakura had once again brought up the fact that his love was unreturned, he didn't no. But he knew he had to shower, and take a walk. He needed to clear his head, and then he could get back to work. He still needed to discover who this assassin was, and more importantly why he was after Sakura. The very security of the village was at stake, and Naruto's number one job was to protect the village.

No matter what.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Naruto found himself walking around the streets of Konaha, living in the past...<p>

Naruto remembered the chain of events that lead to the state he was in today, the cause for the malevolence and the new Kage. After the last war, the world was a bit wanting in their supply of Jinchuriki. Gaara, Bee and Naruto were the only survivors of the original nine, and the tailed beasts had returned to the world in their destructive manner. The only solution was to bind them to new sacrifices, and instead of infants, the strongest ninja from each village were brought in for the sake of their loved ones.

Only Naruto and Sakura weren't informed of this, they were investigating a kidnapping and happened to stumble on what appeared to be a cult performing ritual sacrifices. Needless to say it didn't end well.

The sealing process was interrupted in such a way that the tailed beasts lost all their power in a powerful blast of chakra, leaving the demons nothing but passive spirits, and reducing Jinchuriki to humans with voices in their heads.

Instead of being punished, Naruto and Sakura were hailed as accidental heroes. They had found away of removing the danger of being a Jinchuriki and destroying the barrier that separated them from everyone else.

But something in Naruto didn't feel right about this, and even though he was still a very prestigious ninja, he retired at the age of eighteen.

Sakura contested this greatly, but Naruto was firm in his resolve, and he left the village on his nineteenth birthday.

_Three years ago..._

_Naruto had left the village hours ago, and in that short time he was already miles from the closest settlement. He needed to relax, to get away from it all, and most importantly to focus... maybe then he would find out what was wrong with him._

_He had brought only the most important of necessities, and a large white and red blanket, an heirloom of the Namikazes. Wrapping the Blanket around himself for warmth, he climbed a steep mountain until all signs of a path were erased by forestry. Feeling pretty confident in the fact that he would not be disturbed by a traveling monk or a band of thieves, he laid the blanket down on a rock and took a seat. It took him only a few minutes to enter a deep trance... his world faded to black, and he found himself in the presence of the once great Kyubi Kitsune._

_The nine tailed fox._

_**More to come.**  
><em>


	4. Chapter 4

**S'more**_  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>Twas needless to say that the nine tailed fox had lost all of his power, and with it his rage. The once great demon was no a source of wisdom for the young Uzumaki.<em>

_"Kyubi, I need your advice."_

**_"Naruto... boy, what do you seek?"_**

_"Something is terribly amiss. I can't put my finger on it... but something just isn't right._

_**"With what?"**_

_"With every thing!" Naruto paced back in forth in front of the fox, the once barred cell was now a large empty room, and the chains on the fox were gone as well. "There has to be something else!"_

**"Naruto..." **_ the foxes voice took on an unfamiliar calming tone, **"You just feel abandoned... my power made you the world's greatest ninja... you've been thrown back into the real world... you've lost you're title, and it's upsetting you."**_

_"No, that can't be it." without waiting to hear the Kyubi's rebuttal, Naruto did something he seldom did. He took a long walk through the deep recesses of his soul. He past battles long won, heartaches long felt, and victories long forgotten... yet he could not find peace._

_Then, in the darkest corners of his mind, he found an obsidian door that was partially opened, a red light shone from inside it. Naturally, he took a step inside._

_The room was black, so black he couldn't tell how large it was... but in the centre, several feet in front of the door, a woman sat in a wooden chair. A woman with pink hair. She and the chair were both illuminated by a bright red light that had no source._

_"Who are you?"_

_The woman stood up slowly, and turned around even slower. She was Sakura, but some darkened version of her. Her lips were so black they had no sheen, and her eye shadow was the same. The only thing about her that was brighter than her real life counterpart, were her eyes... which were now an almost blindingly bright green._

_"Sakura?" In response, the dark Sakura tilted her head, the image this produced was frighteningly beautiful... and Naruto moved closer to her, "What are you doing in here?"_

_To this question dark Sakura smiled... then kissed Naruto on the lips. It was the most passionate kiss Naruto had ever received... but it was cold... wrong... _

_Amazing, but evil._

_Naruto pushed Sakura away, and her smile returned... twisted, and sinister. Then her eyes began to glow red and she started laughing. Only no sound came out... the laugh was silent, and the movements jarring. Then she turned into a red and black smoke, and Naruto was expelled from his meditation. He found himself standing, with his blanket wrapped around him like a cloak, several feet from where he had begun his meditation._

_He looked at his hands, and saw that they were glowing with swirling red and black energy._

_This was power, he could feel it... this was pure power embodied by this red and black energy... this malevolence. Just like the dark Sakura, he could feel the evil of the malevolence, and just like the dark Sakura he forced it away, and it dissipated into his surroundings... into his blanket._

_And now that he no longer held the power, now that the malevolence had seeped out into everything around him... it had lost its darkness, its evil nature. He could feel it in the air, in his blanket. Just like the tailed beast, it had been purified by its release. It was then, in that instant that he understood what was wrong with his life. It was then he understood the true purpose of the dark energy that swirled inside of him._

* * *

><p>Naruto fell out of his memories when a familiar voice called his name. Looking to his left, he saw Kakashi Hatake walking toward him. He had long forsaken the black mask, and in place of his headband he wore a thick pair of sunglasses. Not that he needed his sharingan anymore, he had been retired for almost as long as Naruto had... yet he was a cautious man, and never knew when he might need to jump into battle once more. Naruto stared down at Kakashi's close fitting windbreaker, an embroidery and a medallion were all he received for his years of commitment to the protection of the village, and he wore them proudly.<p>

"Hello my fellow geezer." Kakashi liked to make jokes about him and Naruto quitting the game so early, but that was the beauty of the militia. Ninja today could retire long before they were dead. Naruto had never asked why Kakashi retired, he respected his mentor's privacy, "How are you Naruto?"

But he had a few ideas why the legendary copy-cat left the business.

"I'm great... well good. Fine actually." Naruto ran his hands through his hair, feeling scar tissue right behind his left ear... a close call with a hammer. "What about you?"

Kakashi shrugged.

"I heard our pink haired lady-friend had a run in with death the other day."

Naruto nodded, and Kakashi followed him into an empty shoe store. Naruto cleared his throat, and picked up a shoe from a nearby rack, he played with the laces absentmindedly.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"Well for starters those are women's shoes..." Naruto smirked at Kakashi's lame joke, but didn't make a come back. He waited for Kakashi to provide an actual answer, "I'm not sure."

Naruto nodded.

"Who would want Sakura dead? Tons of people... she is the best medic in the village... she has even surpassed Tsunade, you and I both know this from experience... but who would have enough money to send an assassin of such high caliber? I mean from what I hear he was even faster than you."

"And who did you hear this from?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi just smiled in return.

"C'mon, I'll buy you some ramen to make you feel better."

Naruto could never say no to that.

* * *

><p><strong>S'more to come.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Twas at Ichiraku Ramen that Kakashi and Naruto bought their bowls, but despite the protests of the chef they didn't eat there. Instead they took a short walk, and eventually found themselves sitting down at the very top of the Hokage monument, right on Minato Namikaze's heard. They did this often, not as often as breakfast with Sakura, but often enough that it felt natural. So natural, that they had spoken about a great many other things before remembering the dilemma with the assassin.

"We have to get to the bottom of this." Naruto said, bringing their attention back to the attempted murder.

"I know... trust me I know... aside from being a close friend to both of us, Sakura is a valuable asset to the security of the village. We'll need to keep a night watch on her... and a day watch... in fact why aren't you watching her right now?"

Naruto was a bit taken back by this, after all why wasn't he? Kakashi was right, it was imperative that they keep Sakura safe, and instead of guarding her, he was eating ramen. Kakashi noticed Naruto's guilt.

"I'm just messing with you, it has only been a day, I doubt they would've hired a new assassin already... regardless, you need to start watching her tonight."

Naruto visibly brightened with Kakashi's comforting words, and with a nod, stood up to leave. Pupil and mentor exchanged handshakes and said farewells.

"I'll see you at the hideout around 2 am then, we can switch shifts from their... it's only what? Two blocks from Sakura's house?"

"Sounds good to me." Naruto said, and with that they parted ways, Naruto to don the robes of the Hokage, and Kakashi to re-assume the role of the harmless retiree.

* * *

><p>Sakura peeled off her hospital gloves and disposed of them promptly in a nearby waste bucket. Waving goodbye to a few of the nurses, she began the long walk home. Everyone she passed by on the way home was either a halfway stranger or a forgotten acquaintance. She smiled, and nodded, and threw out the occasional "hey", but overall remained silent until she reached her apartment's door. However something bugged her. All the way from the hospital, she had felt like she was being followed. Usually, she would've picked out the stalked in a matter of seconds... but if someone was following her, they were doing a great job remaining unseen. That is, until they spoke.<p>

"Hello Sakura."

Sakura gasped in surprise, than turned frantically, searching for the source of the voice. She didn't have to look for long, because right next to her, perched on the balcony of her apartment... was the Hokage.

"Oh! Hello," She was flustered, "Lord Hokage."

He dropped down from the balcony, closing the gap between him in Sakura in a single step. His robes flapped in the wind, and the white shone in the moonlight of the late hour.

"Please don't call me that... like I told you, I'm not the monarch Hokage of your youth."

Regardless of whether he considered himself a king, he held himself like one... and Sakura was in awe of his presence.

"I'm sorry," She blurted out, "I just don't know what else to call you..."

The Hokage nodded, then walked over to the opposite edge of the balcony.

"You can call me friend... you can call me ally. You can call me whatever you need to... because as this village's utmost protector that's what I am. I am whatever you need be to be."

With that, he jumped from the third floor, leaving Sakura alone. She stood there for several minutes, cherishing the memory while it was still fresh in her mind. Then she opened the door to her apartment and locked it behind her. Sakura's heart was racing, she hadn't felt this way for anyone in a long time... not since...

She shook off the painful memories and moved into the kitchen. She wasn't quite sure why she wandered in there, but after a few minutes of pacing about she discovered that she was suddenly hungry, and found herself fixing a bowl of cereal. Unfortunately, instead of a prize falling into her bowl, a mysterious piece of paper did. One she quickly recognized, as an explosive seal.

"Down Sakura!" In a cloud of smoke Kakashi appeared, throwing himself at Sakura and knocking her out of the kitchen, right as the seal exploded. Unfortunately for both of them, the explosion was far larger than just the kitchen.

However when the roar of the fire died down, and they both opened their eyes, they weren't dead, and they weren't in the charred remains of Sakura's appartment. They were in the Hokage's warehouse, and he was standing there watching them.

"I leave you alone for two minutes and you burn your house down." The Hokage didn't smile, but what he said was clearly meant as a joke. The first display of humor Sakura saw from the warrior and it was about her now destroyed apartment.

"Wonderful." She said.

Kakashi got off of Sakura rather quickly, then she noticed he was holding a strange looking kunai in his hand.

"Thank god that worked," he said, passing the kunai to the Hokage, "I'm afraid we'd both be a whole lot uglier if it hadn't."

"Okay, let's get serious... Sakura, if you get tired there is a cot in that room," Uzumaki pointed to a door behind him, "In the meantime Kakashi will report this to the authorities and we can get down to answering the very important question..."

He placed the kunai on a weapon rack that held many other strange kunai of varying design.

"Who wants you dead?"


	6. Chapter 6

Sakura let the hot water of the shower hit her eyelids, embracing the steaming warmth as it flooded her face. She had spent the night sitting on a cold table with her ex-sensei Kakashi and the mysterious Hokage. She hadn't had time to interject with questions about Kakashi's involvement with the Hokage, or how they had managed to survive the explosion. So she just sat there, with her hands between her knees and her eyes darting back and forth between the two men in the room. After a few hours, Kakashi got up to leave.

"I'm going to take all this to the council, I'll be back in a couple of hours hopefully," He said while patting a half asleep Sakura on the shoulder, "Until then, keep an eye on her... she's an old friend."

Sakura smiled sheepishly at a man she had always considered family, and watched him walk out through the door.

"I'm sorry for all this Sakura... I promise you'll be safe here while we find you another apartment. In the meantime there is a bathroom through that door..." The Hokage said, pointing to a door near the one he had pointed to hours before, "and once again there's a cot in that room there."

With no further word, the Hokage left the room, leaving Sakura alone to eventually wander into the shower. The soap the Hokage had stashed was generic, and the towels were rough, but the shower was just what the doctor ordered, and Sakura felt greatly refreshed afterward. So refreshed, that at first she didn't notice that her clothes were missing. Though after a few minutes of looking for something she just couldn't find, she discovered the absence of her only attire.

She was enraged.

Rushing through the warehouse in only a towel, she quickly found the Hokage, reading through various papers and news scrolls.

"Hey! What's the big idea?"

At the sound of her voice, Uzumaki turned to look at her, but seeing her in a towel, he quickly looked away.

"Sakura, what... what's wrong?"

"Don't play dumb with me! Where the fuck are my clothes!"

The Hokage, stood there for a moment, then slammed his fist on the table.

"Shit," He whispered, "Sorry Sakura, I put them in the washer and forgot about them. I'll go get them right now."

Sakura stood there in shock as he walked away, here she was, assuming that the man had stolen her clothes because he was some sort of pervert, when all he had been trying to do was be polite. She felt awful. She had already begun planning her apology when he returned with her clothes.

"Here you go," He turned to walk away again, "I'll let you change-"

"Wait!" Sakura walked forward, closing the distance between them. The Hokage looked around the room like a helpless puppy, and Sakura found herself blushing at his cuteness. She giggled, and he cleared his throat.

"Um... yes Sakura?"

She smiled at him big, and started tapping her foot.

"Look at me," He lowered his head, but the hood didn't hid the fact that he was staring above her. She waited a little longer, "Hey... I said look at me."

He moved his head down a little bit, and this time she was sure he was looking at her, if his eyes were open of course.

"Yes Sakura?"

She embraced him, and he swallowed loudly.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you..." She leaned into his shoulder and her voice came out muffled, "Thank you sho mush for keeping me shafe."

Uzumaki didn't know what to do, so he wrapped his arms around her gently.

"No problem Sakura... like I said, I would do anything to protect you."

Sakura nodded into his shoulder, but didn't leave the hug. Naruto didn't mind one bit. She smelled of cherry blossoms, Naruto had bought that shampoo on purpose, he knew it closely resembled the one Sakura used every day. Buying non-brand just saved him money. He didn't know why he was thinking about those things, when you're caught in moment you find your mind dwelling on unimportant things... because if you focus to much on what's happening, you start to enjoy it too much, and then before you know it, it's-

"I better get dressed."

Gone.

Naruto tried to hide his frown as Sakura pulled away from his hug.

"You don't have to lead, I'll just change in the bathrom." She smiled at the Hokage and started to walk away. When she opened the door, she turned back and threw Naruto a kind smile. He smiled back.

She dropped the towel before she the door had completely closed, and Naruto caught an eyeful.

Once again, he felt like his insides were on fire.

What

the

Hell?

Had Sakura meant to do that? And if so, why? Was she growing feelings for the man she knew only as the Hokage?

No, of course not. She had just been changing, it was an accident, Naruto had overreacted. Or had he?

"Don't think about it, don't think about it."

"Don't think about what?" Kakashi had come back without Naruto noticing.

"Nothing." Naruto cleared his throat and sat down at the cold table. "You're back early."

"Yeah... I'm afraid I have some bad news." Kakashi sat down at the table, across from Naruto, and unrolled a large scroll. "You're going to want to read this."

Naruto scanned the first few sentences, then went back in read them over.

"Wait, this is-"

"Just read the whole thing."

Naruto nodded, and at 750 words a minute he had soon finished.

"This isn't good."


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura dressed herself quickly, wanting to return to he investigation of her attempted murder. When she came back into the room, Kakashi was there, and he and the Hokage both looked extremely worried.

"Um... what's up?"

Uzumaki and Kakashi exchanged glances, then Naruto tossed Sakura the scroll.

"Read this."

Sakura's eyes scanned the length of the scroll, and after a few moments she realized that it was a list of all the patients she had ever treated. Throughout the list of a hundred or some patients, there were more than a handful of losses.

Sakura remembered all of them. Every single one, like it was yesterday. It brought more than tears to her eyes, and she soon felt Kakashi's warm arms wrap around her.

"Shhh Sakura, Sakura it's okay... you need to see this."

She nodded, wiping the water from her eyes. Pulling the scroll back up, she resumed her reading.

"About a year ago. You had a fatality." The Hokage said clearly, yet sympathetically.

Sakura found the patient. His name was Miyamoto Hanzo, and he died during a risky surgery. Sakura remembered it down to the names of the nurses she operated with.

Hanzo was very young, barely a genin... his older brother insisted on sitting in during the operation, and suffered a panic attack when the boy died.

Sakura tried comforting him, but he lashed out and attacked her. It took more than half of Tsunade's attention to restrain him.

A few days later he left the village, and Sakura never heard from him again.

Or wait, she did.

"Miyamoto's brother, he returned to the village! I saw him the other day!"

Kakashi and the Hokage nodded.

"Yes, and while he was away he amassed a great fortune, he never became a ninja... but that doesn't mean he wouldn't hire one."

"Wait? You think Hanzo was the one who tried to kill me?"

"No,"

"Oh"

"We think he hired someone to kill you."

Sakura frowned.

"He wants revenge for his brother..." She realized.

The Hokage sadly nodded and walked away.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, "It's probably best if you go get some sleep... Me and the Hokage will handle everything until you wake up.

"Alright... I will." Sakura slowly walked back into the room with the cot in it, and lied down on the bed. It took only a few minutes for the full extent of her exhaustion to hit her, and in a short amount of time, she was asleep.

* * *

><p>Sakura woke in a cold sweat, she had been stuck in a terrible dream. All she saw was the broken face of Miyamoto's brother, repeating over, and over,<p>

_"You killed me, my brother will kill you, you killed me..."_

The dream felt like it went on for hours, but the room was still dark, and the clunky alarm clock in the corner read 3:55. Frustrated, she pulled the gray blanket over her head and laid back down. However she couldn't fall back asleep... and after a few minutes, she realized she had seen the Hokage sitting next to the alarm clock. She stood up quickly, and sure enough there he was, fast asleep.

He stirred.

"I'm sorry Sakura... did I wake you?" He said.

"No... I just, I had a bad dream." She said, "What are you doing in here?"

"Huh?" He titled his head, "Oh... I'm keeping watch on you. I switched off with Kakashi about an hour ago."

"I don't remember Kakashi coming in."

"You fell asleep pretty quickly."

"Oh."

A few more minutes of silence passed before Sakura spoke again.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"You know who I am."

"Don't be like that. Where is it written you can't tell me who you really are?"

"It's in the Hokage guidebook... rule 37 actually."

"Really?"

"No, of course not."

The Hokage chuckled, and Sakura couldn't help but laugh along side him.

"I'm sorry Sakura... I couldn't put you at risk like that."

"How would that put me at risk?"

"Um... well, if someone found out you knew who I really was... they might do terrible things, to make you tell them."

"You don't have to worry about that, I won't tell no matter what."

"That, is what I'm worried about."

Neither of them noticed that they had gradually moved closer to one another, until the Hokage's chair slipped and their faces collided. It took only a few seconds for their lips to find one another. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, throwing herself at him. Because his chair was already leaning too far forward, it fell out from under him and they both fell to the ground.

Naruto's hood fell back and his thick blonde hair fell into his face. Naruto's eyes widened in shock, but luckily Sakura's had closed.

He reached back slowly and pulled his hood back over his face. Just as Sakura's eyes opened.

God he loved how green they were. He had never kissed Sakura before, and it was everything and more than what he dreamed of.

One of her hands moved down and rubbed his face, then rubbed it again. Directly over his whisker-like scars. She stopped kissing him and pulled back.

"Your face... what happened?"

"I... it's one of the many prices I pay for my power... does it disgust you?"

Sakura laughed a little.

"No... no way, scars are sexy." She went right back to kissing him.


	8. Chapter 8

Kakashi new something was amiss as soon as Naruto left Sakura's room. Not only did he half stumble through the door-frame, but his face was almost as red as the red of his cloak. Kakashi said nothing, and let Naruto pass him unmolested, but if the youth thought he was going to leave unscathed, he was sorely mistaken. Kakashi had a few questions for Naruto after his shift was over. Right now, it was four a.m., that gave Kakashi an hour of reading before he would switch off with Naruto, and hopefully get some answers. Unless of course Sakura was willing to tell him, which he doubted.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Of course he was wrong sometimes. Closing the door behind him, he sat on the chair next to Sakura's alarm clock. He eyes stayed locked on him the entire duration of his short trip from the door to the chair, and he found it a little... creepy.

"What's up?"

A smile widened upon her face, and she opened her mouth to speak. For some reason, Kakashi thought he would be told a lot more than he actually wanted to know. The idea didn't amuse him in the least.

* * *

><p>Naruto's stomach was a bundle of twisted wires and rotating currents. Part of him wanted desperately to run back into the room, throw Kakashi out, and have Sakura right there on the cheap carpet. The other part of him wanted to stab that part of him in the testicles, and twist and grind the knife deeper and deeper.<p>

He counted himself incredibly lucky, if Sakura had seen his scars in a better light, or had even touched the other half of his face, her odds of identifying him as her obnoxious ex-teammate would have increased a thousand-fold. Unconsciously, he pulled his hood tighter around his face. He needed some air, if he kept aware of the time, he could easily be back before Kakashi's shift ended, and if he was late, he knew Kakashi wouldn't mind. They cared more about Sakura than most people, and both of them would willingly die for her, so what's a few extra minutes of babysitting if Naruto got sidetracked?

He shortly found himself on the roof of the warehouse, embracing the early, early, morning air and staring out at the night's last wave of darkness. There were very few stars in the sky.

Pretty much all of Naruto's dreams had just come true, and he found himself wanting more.

He wanted Sakura to love him for Naruto, not the Hokage. Of course being the Hokage he felt more in his own skin than he ever had before, he felt like he was truly in the right place, truly where he belonged... so did that make Sakura's love misplaced? Did she love the real Naruto, and she just didn't know?

His cloak flapped in the wind around him, and a poem somehow crept its way into Naruto's mind. He said it aloud, then hummed a makeshift tune as he lay down on the roof. Contempt for the time being.

* * *

><p>"So who is he!"<p>

Kakashi wanted to go back to his book, he had been holding his place with his thumb for the fifteen minutes since Sakura began talking.

"I'm sworn to secrecy Sakura... I can't tell you who he is... I can tell you, that you may regret making out with him later."

Sakura's face grew only slightly worried.

"It isn't Chouji is it?"

Kakashi laughed louder than he had in a long time.

* * *

><p>Naruto sat up slowly and checked the time using the sky, no more stars were visible, but the sun had not yet risen. He had overslept his shift change by a few minutes but it didn't bother him too much. Most likely Sakura would be heading home now anyway. Pulling a kunai out of his cloak, he twirled it around on his finger, then put it back. He exhaled, then stood up, stretching out all the kinks in his muscles.<p>

He stood up, and saw Sakura and Kakashi exit the warehouse.

"You really don't need to walk me home Kakashi, I think I'm going to Naruto's house for breakfast anyway, I want to explain all this to him. I'm sure he can handle keeping me safe."

"It's just precautionary Sakura, until we stop this guy, me and the Hokage won't leave your side. I need to talk to Naruto anyway."

Kakashi let Sakura walk a little bit ahead of him, then turned to the roof, nodding at Naruto.

'Shit!' Now Naruto had to run all the way home, and prepare for Sakura's arrival. On top of that, he had to pretend like he didn't know what was going on, and while he was an excellent agent of espionage while under the guise of the Hokage, he was a pretty bad liar in real life.

Taking the opposite route back to his apartment to avoid his ex-teammates, Naruto added an additional five minutes to the usually short trip home. He entered his room through the roof, and heard Kakashi and Sakura walk up the steps seconds after he had changed out of his robes. Thinking quickly, he put on his shoes and headed toward the door.

Right as he opened it, Sakura reached up to knock.

"Oh, hi Naruto."

"Sakura, Kakashi-sensei. What's up?"

"Well- we, uh... Is this a bad time?"

"No," Naruto said calmly, "I'm just headed to the store... you're both welcome to join me if you want to talk."

"Sure, that... that sounds great." With a smile, Sakura followed Naruto to the store, with Kakashi walking a short distance behind them.


	9. Chapter 9

Twas in the instant-meal isle where Naruto bought his daily meals, that the trio now stood. Naruto stared at the back of an instant-Ramen cup, pretending to read the ingredients but actually just avoiding Sakura's gaze as she told her story. She recounted the past few days events pretty accurately, although Naruto thought that she over-exaggerated on the powers of the Hokage. Was it possible for Naruto to be jealous of himself?

He smiled at this, and it did not go unnoticed by Sakura.

"You don't believe me?"

Naruto looked into her emerald eyes in confusion for a moment, and found himself entranced for several more seconds. Only when she blinked did he become free to speak.

"No! No! Of course I believe you... this Hokage guy just seems to good to be true is all."

He might as well have called her mother ugly and her father fat.

"Naruto you don't have to be jealous, you never really had a chance of being Hokage anyway." Her words stung like bees. Naruto stood, mouth agape, instant-Ramen dangling from his finger tips, then falling, then exploding as it hit the ground. The sound of wasted ramen broke Naruto out of his stupor, and he shook the pain from his mind. Jealousy of one's self is wasted energy.

"I'm not jealous Sakura," He bent down to pick up the spilled noodles, she did the same, "I just-"

She brushed his hand and he froze for a moment. After their extensive relations last night, he figured that he would be less freaked out by her, but he wasn't. That didn't disappoint him in the least.

"Naruto... I didn't mean it like that." She did, they both knew it, but an apology was wonderful. She stared into Naruto's eyes, and for some reason the shock she usually gave the boy was returned to her, and Kakashi watched on as they stared at each other. Naruto could see himself leaning forward and kissing her, like he did last night... and for just a second he thought maybe she would return the kiss, but then she stood up and his hopes were dashed.

"Listen Sakura," he began as he stood up, "I know you're tough and strong, but if this Hokage guy and Kakashi are trying so hard to protect you, I think I should help too."

"Naruto," She whispered softly, "There's a reason you retired... you aren't Rock Lee, you don't have the training to fight well without Chakra."

Another series of stinging words.

"Please don't hurt yourself trying to protect me."

"It's my job to protect you Sakura-" His voice had changed to the grim tumor of the Hokage's, and Sakura's eyes shot wide. He quickly cleared his throat, and his voice resumed its usual gritty tenor, "-As your friend, and your ex-teamate."

"We'll always be teammates Naruto." She turned to Kakashi and nodded, "Naruto I have to go to work now, but I'll see you around okay?"

She kissed him on the cheek and he stared at his shoes. She patted Kakashi on the shoulder and started leaving the store. Naruto looked up, a devilish smirk on his face, and Kakashi shook his head and left. Leaving Naruto alone in the store, with a cracked cup of ramen in his hand. A clerk wandering the halls tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah I know... I'll pay for it."

After he did, Naruto left the store, with no groceries. He hadn't outlined shift changes with Kakashi, but a kunai with a note on it stuck out from the top floor wall of a tall building. Naruto looked around, and it was still a little too early for people to be wandering the streets. So he darted up the wall and grabbed the kunai. Pulling himself to the top of the roof, he sat on the edge and opened the note.

'Dear Naruto,' It said, 'I'll monitor her as long as she  
>'s at the hospital, I'll meet you back at the warehouse later tonight.<p>

Your pal,

-Kakashi.'

Naruto sighed, that gave him two options. Either patrol for five hours, or he could do some other things. He didn't quite know what those other things were, it had been awhile since he had really nothing to do. But the last few days had been quite mentally stressful, so he figured he would find someway to blow off some steam. Ramen was always good.

Naruto smiled, Ramen was indeed, always good.


	10. Chapter 10

Kakashi smiled, not for the first time wishing he still wore his black mask. His emotions were too visible this way, and made him feel less like a ninja. But he was 'retired' now, more or less. Sticking his hands into his pockets, he strode into Tsunade's office at the hospital, with Sakura leading the way.

"Kakashi Hatake. How long has it been?"

"Yo." Kakashi waved, then took a seat as Sakura spoke to the ex-hokage. He had briefed Sakura before they walked in. As far as Kakashi knew, Tsunade didn't know anything about the Hokage, so the two were not to mention him at all.

"So, I heard you met our secret Hokage." Tsunade said. Kakashi muttered something underneath his breath, and stood up. Tsunade followed him to the door with her eyes as Sakura spoke.

"So I first met him-"

"Hold on one second Sakura. Don't wander off too far Kakashi!" She said as he stood in the doorway, "I still need to talk to you after this."

He nodded, and closed the door behind him.

The hospital was bustling with activity, but he quickly found his way to the front desk. He cleared his throat, but the receptionist silenced him with a finger.

"I'm sorry Kakashi, but the hospital is really busy today. I'm afraid I have no time to talk."

Kakashi frowned, once again wishing he still wore a mask. The pretty receptionist offered him a slight smile and returned to her work, he walked away. There had to be someone to talk to in this place. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that made him cringe. In a room full of nurses, Guy laid on a hospital bed unconscious.

Kakashi sprinted into the room, only to be stopped by a barrel-chested nurse with large arms.

"Sir, you can't come in here!" The man said, his fore-arms drenched with sweat. Kakashi struggled for a moment against the brute, knowing the whole time he could rip the man's arms off as easily as bat an eyelash. Instead he backed away, letting the man shut the door and block Kakashi from Guy. Kakashi's green shirt was soaked in sweat from the nurse, and his hands were pressed into fists at his sides.

He sat on a nearby bench, and dropped his head into his hands. Any fool could tell that Guy was in critical condition. He pulled his sunglasses off and rubbed his eyes, then stared at the window of Guy's room with his sharingan. The blinds had cracks in them just wide enough for the sharingan to peer through, and Kakashi watched the whole operation from the comfort of his bench. An hour later, he put back on his sunglasses, Guy would live, but he would not be the same.

The last Hatake sighed, another ninja changed forever. Guy would most likely retire after this... or die on his next mission.

This was worse though, Guy was probably Kakashi's closest friend. Then an idea struck him, and Kakashi stood up. He would be there when Guy awoke, and he would have an offer for him. The same offer Kakashi was given so many moons ago...

* * *

><p>Naruto slurped the Ramen and smiled as its broth warmed his throat.<p>

* * *

><p>Kakashi was sitting next to Guy's bed when Tsunade walked in, Sakura following close behind her. Kakashi had been there when a depressed Guy awoke, and had calmed him down before offering him a new job. The whole thing was very sobering, and it left Kakashi at little depressed himself.<p>

"Yo." He said to the two, hiding his eyes as he reached for his sunglasses. Once they were safely back on his face, he looked up, only to see that they both looked worried, and distraught, "What's up?"

"Have you heard the news?" Kakashi shook his head no, "The council just announced there plan to meet with Hanzo, and they want Sakura to attend."

"Good, we can get to the- What's wrong?" The two women still looked worried. That's when Kakashi realized what was wrong, that meeting would put Sakura and Hanzo right next to eachother, it would be the perfect time for Hanzo to exact his revenge. The council had just signed Sakura's life away in an attempt to orchestrate justice, the old fools.

"We've asked and begged against it, but the council will not hold the trial without Sakura's presence."

"Good thing we have a friend who might be able to help."

The trio nodded, and Kakashi left the room to find the Hokage. Sakura and Tsunade slipped out as well, to let Guy sleep in peace.

"Tsunade, I think I'll be able to protect myself during the trial... we might be freaking out over nothing."

Tsunade grabbed Sakura by the arms, and stared her dead in the eyes.

"Sakura, this man wants revenge, and he is willing to do anything and everything to get it, including making a choice that will indubitably seal his own fate. The best thing we can do is stop him without allowing you to get anywhere near him. With luck, the Hokage will be able to do this. Do not risk anything, just keep yourself safe. You are worth far more to this village alive. Okay?"

Sakura nodded grimly, and Tsunade smiled at her.

"Cheer up kid." She smiled and left, leaving Sakura alone outside Guy's room, a thousand thoughts racing through her head.


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto and Kakashi sipped lemonade through bendy straws at a table some fifty feet from Sakura, staring at her through dark sunglasses. The exterior section of the restaurant was illuminated by the sun and cooled by the breeze.

"Do you think she knows that it's us?"

"She hasn't a clue." Kakashi whispered softly.

"Guys what are you doing?" Sakura called from her seat.

"She can't be talking to us." Naruto said

"Naruto! Kakashi! Guys!"

"Ignore her... pretend that you're someone else."

"Fine! Suit yourselves!"

"It worked... now lets get back to business." Kakashi said.

"Here's how I see it. We take the guy out before the trial." Naruto proposed.

"I agree with you completely on this Naruto... but we can't just kill people without any evidence."

Naruto sighed and sipped noisily through his straw.

"Damn good lemonade."

"Hell yeah..." Kakashi muttered, "You want something to eat? I'll buy."

"Ramen is always good."

"Guys! What are you doing!"

"Shhh... shhh, same deal. Just ignore her."

This time, Sakura stood up and walked over to their table. She crossed her arms, and starting tapping her foot.

"Well?"

"I- I'm sorry miss, we don't know who you-"

"You guys are idiots." She reached forward and tore the glasses from Naruto's face, "One: Kakashi, you always wear those exact sunglasses. Two: Naruto, with those scars on your face anyone would... recognize...you."

Shocking realization took hold of Sakura and Naruto swore inwardly.

Realizing what was occuring and thinking quickly, Kakashi spoke up: "Sakura, that reminds me, the Hokage wants to speak with you at the uh- the warehouse."

Sakura shook the realization away as simply suspicion and smiled.

"Really? Right now?"

"Uh... sure. I mean yeah! Yeah, right now."

"I'll see you guys later!" Sakura walked from the resturant and into the bustling streets.

"Thanks."

"I got your back..." Kakashi said, and after a few moments of awkward silence: "You probably want to get to that warehouse."

Naruto sighed, "See ya in a bit."

He sprinted away as quickly as he could, leaving Kakashi alone to think.

The incident with guy had given him a brush with mortality, not his own, but the mortality of his loved ones. Then he realized, that besides his teammates and fellow ninja, he didn't have any. He wanted to leave behind more than just a record number of missions or kills, he wanted to extend the Hatake line... and he had no clue how he was going to do that. He sipped on his lemonade, and soon the cup was empty.

* * *

><p>Naruto pulled his white hood tightly around his face, then waited for Sakura to enter the warehouse. He had barely made it back in time, but with the malevolence powering his feet he had arrived a full five minutes before Sakura, just enough time to get dressed. Then he looked down at his bright orange pants, and swore aloud. The door opened and Naruto took a seat at the table, wrapping his cloak around his legs as best he could. Kakashi walked in with a to-go box in his hand.<p>

"Yo."

"Wh-What are you doing here?"

"I stopped Sakura in front of the warehouse, told her you were on a mission and would talk to her after. Saved your butt I did. Here's the ramen if you want it."

Naruto pulled the box open and ate the ramen with a plastic fork.

"By the way she said she was going to go back to Naruto's apartment for a few hours... watch a movie with you or something."

Naruto choked on the ramen and stood up, pulling his cloak off.

"Why are you doing this to me?" He stormed out of the warehouse.

Kakashi laughed and ate the rest of the ramen.

* * *

><p>Naruto sprinted home, but when he arrived Sakura was already waiting at his door. She was not alone. Naruto's neighbor was making light conversation with her. This guy had moved in a few months ago, and Naruto had always appreciated his ruggedness. He also had some cool scars on his face, though they only covered once cheek, they almost resembled Naruto's.<p>

"Damn." he muttered underneath his breath.

Sakura heard the noise and spotted Naruto.

"Hey Naruto..." she said cheerfully, "Did you know that Raiko here is one of the most celebrated ninja in the village?"

"I don't like to brag..." The man said not modestly, "I've been lucky a lot."

"Oh don't be so modest, I'm sure you're excellent."

"Sakura, can I uh... talk to you inside?"

Sakura looked back in forth between the two men before nodding and following Naruto. It was all he could do to keep himself from slamming the door behind them.


	12. Chapter 12

Sakura walked into Naruto's apartment, smiling. Naruto followed behind her, shutting the door softly before speaking.

"The Hokage know you're flirting with other men?" He said only half joking.

"I am not flirting Naruto," She took a seat on his worn sofa, "I am investigating."

"Oh, I see..." He chuckled a bit, then walked into his kitchen. He heard Sakura turn on the T.V as he made some hot chocolate. In a few minutes, he was back in the main room with Sakura,

"Now Sakura," He said, handing her a cup of cocoa, "What can I do for you?"

He sat next to her on couch, staring at her as she sipped from her mug.

"Oh, I just thought we could spend some time together, you know..." She hesitated for a moment, "Like we used to."

"Oh, I see" Naruto grabbed his own mug, and a sudden realization occurred to him. Sakura had bought them these mugs for his birthday last year. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her notice this as well and her lips broke into a small smile.

Naruto looked quickly towards his front door, hiding his face from Sakura as he smiled himself. To his surprise, Sakura leaned her head into Naruto's shoulder. Nartuo cringed a bit, and Sakura noticed.

Teasing him, she dropped her chin down on his shoulder and looked Naruto in the eye.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Her green eyes shone with incredible adorableness. Naruto's face grew increasingly hot. She nuzzled her nose into his cheek.

Naruto flew off the couch, landing on all fours against the wall. He fell a few seconds later, landing on a small table, breaking it underneath him.

Sakura stared at him, shocked.

"Naruto? What was that?" Sakura stood up and walked over to him, checking for any injuries, she healed a few bruises in a matter of seconds. Only after healing him, did she realize how close they were to each other.

"I wish I could kiss you..." He said softly.

"No one is stopping you." She said almost unconsciously.

Naruto placed his hands on her cheeks, and leaned into her very slowly, both their hearts were beating at an incredible rate. Naruto wanted this kiss to have more meaning than the barrage of passion they had shared earlier. This was, after all, their first real kiss...

Naruto closed his eyes, and the whole world seemed to go silent. They kissed for what seemed like an eternity of bliss, and as they broke away slowly, sound returned to the world. A knock rapped against the door.

"Naruto?" Kakashi's voice came from behind the door. For a moment, Naruto didn't answer.

"One moment," he finally spoke. "I should uh, get that..."

Sakura nodded.

"Yeah..." She got up carefully, and walked into the kitchen. Naruto walked slowly to the door, and let Kakashi in.

"Hey." He said.

"Yo," Kakashi replied, "I was talking to Tsunade about the trial and-"

"What trial?" Naruto said winking.

"Hanzo's trial Naruto. What's wrong with your eye?"

Naruto mouthed, 'Sakura is in the kitchen'.

"What?"

"Srrkra urs urn thr krtchn!" He whispered with his teeth shut.

Kakashi thought for a moment, then realization swept him.

"Oh, yeah, sorry Naruto... I forgot, that I hadn't told you about the uh... trial yet."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Sakura was battling with her emotions. She had no clue why she had allowed Naruto to kiss her, but it had felt just as good, if not better, than the kiss with the Hokage... it felt just as right, only more controlled. The slowness and almost refined moments of Naruto only served to exemplify every detail of the moment.

She seemed so sure of her love for the Hokage, and all of that was crumbled by a single hour alone with Naruto.

Why had things changed?

She walked slowly out of the kitchen, not wanting to worry about it, but knowing she would have to sort things out later.

"That changes things greatly." Naruto said to Kakashi, smiling slightly.

"What does?" Sakura asked, not having been listening to the conversation before now.

Kakashi turned to face Sakura.

"I have convinced the Elders to allow for Tsunade to pick who is placed on the jury at the trial."

"How?" Sakura asked, "Rules state that any serving jury member, can not be handpicked by the council, or know the accused or defendants in any way."

"There's a stipulation to that rule," Kakashi cleared his throat, "That rule applies to a jury of shinobi, but Tsunade and I discovered a loop hole."

"Which is?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"When the jury is made up of civilians , a community leader can choose who serves."

"Well what good will that do?" Sakura asked impatiently, "How will civilians keep me safe from Hanzo's assassins?"

"Tsunade has decided that the jury will be made up entirely of retired ninja."

Sakura's eyes lit up with realization.

"You and Naruto can serve!"

"Guy as well." Kakashi stated grimly.

"Oh... how is he?" She asked, her voice soft with understanding.

"By the time the trial begins, he will be fit enough to fight."

Sakura nodded, and Naruto excused himself to the kitchen.

"No offense Kakashi," Sakura said, "But I'm not sure if a bunch of retired ninja are going to be able to take on all of Hanzo's assassins... if they are dangerous enough for the Hokage to interfere, they must be incredibly skilled shinobi."

"I'm sure we will be fine Sakura," Kakashi said as Naruto re-entered the room, "Besides..."

Naruto opened a garbage bag he had taken from the kitchen, and began putting pieces of the broken table inside it.

"The Hokage will be on a jury," Naruto grimaced, "He is no longer an active ninja... after all."

Naruto cursed Kakashi's big mouth under his breath.

"How'd you break that table Naruto?"

"I fell off the wall." He muttered coldly.

"Huh, I'm surprised you were able to stay on that wall long enough to fall... must've been pretty hard without Chakra. See you guys later."

Kakashi slammed the door behind him. Leaving Naruto stumbling for words. How could he possibly explain his ability to cling to the wall without chakra, save for the revelation of his malevolence induced power.

But Sakura asked nothing about it, in fact she seemed almost in a daze.

"See you later Naruto." She said before leaving.

Outside of Naruto's apartment, she seemed to forget all about the kiss. The new knowledge that she would soon see the face of the Hokage, seemed to completely take hold of her mind.

Her investigation, began anew.

**More to come, read and review.**


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto stood on the roof of his apartment, a crumpled up piece of paper in his hand. Written on the paper was protocol for the trial, stuff he honestly didn't give a damn about. He was mentally preparing himself for tomorrow, most likely it would end in Sakura's reassured safety, the death or capture of Hanzo, and revelation of the Hokage's true identity.

Naruto knew the risk, and he had prepared himself to accept revealing himself to the woman he knew he loved, but that didn't make him any less nervous. He sighed, and stared at the starry night sky. He had only a few hours till he was expected at the Konaha Court House. The cold air almost chilled him to the bone, despite his thick jacket.

"Uzumaki?" Naruto had noticed the man some minutes ago, but he had chosen to ignore the intruder until he spoke.

"That is my name." This guy was trouble, Naruto could sense it... but he wasn't as much trouble as the assassin originally hired to kill Sakura.

"I am here to make you an offer." He spoke.

"Fuck you." Naruto chuckled.

"You haven't heard the offer yet." He said, "Let Haruno die..."

"And?" Naruto asked.

"I'll let you live." The intruder pulled a long twisted blade from his belt. But it fell from his hands seconds after, "Ugh."

Naruto pulled his fist out of the man's chest, and he died. A sudden anger rose and Naruto, and he started kicking furiously at the dead body.

Then, realization hit him. He practically flew to Guy's house, only to discover that the large eye-browed retiree had taken care of the intruder.

"They have misunderestimated me!" Guy kicked the air furiously, "Even in my retirement I am a force to be reckoned with."

Together, the two retirees ran to Sakura's parents house, where the girl was staying and where Kakashi was keeping watch. Luckily for them, no assassins were found on the property.

"He really wants to kill her tomorrow I guess." Guy said in a half joke. Naruto and Kakashi remained silent. They were all sitting in the tree's behind Sakura's house, watching the family eat a friendly dinner through a window. Sakura seemed solemn and sad. When her mother collected the plates for washing, she stood up and walked out to the balcony.

"I'm going to talk to her..." Naruto said. He felt possessed, his body moved without his mind's permission, and despite Kakashi's persuasion to stay hidden, he jumped down from the tree, right onto the rail of the balcony.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, then whispered: "What are you doing here?"

Naruto stepped down from the rail, he barely made a sound when he landed.

"I'm sick of hiding from the truth Sakura." He said, or thought he said. No sooner had he come face to face with Sakura, then did she crumpled into his chest and start to cry.

"Oh Naruto-"

"Shhh... what's wrong Sakura?" Naruto wrapped his arms around the pink haired woman, holding her as she sobbed.

"I'm so worried..."

"Sakura, you're gonna be fine! You have Kakashi and Guy... even me and Sasuke-" Naruto was planning on let the Uchiha's return be a surprise, but in his attempt to comfort Sakura he had let it slip.

"Sasuke's coming home?" Sakura asked softly.

"Yes..." He had been on a scouting mission for the Hokage, Sasuke had been an operative almost as long as Kakashi. Naruto had told Sakura that Sasuke was visiting some allies from before the war, but in truth he was spying on a mercenary camp to the south of the village, "He'll be on the jury with us... there is no way anything will happen to you Sakura."

"Naruto I'm not a baby, that's not what I'm worried about..." Sakura lifted her head up, staring into Naruto's blue eyes.

"Well what are you worried about?" Naruto asked, as he leaned his lips closer and closer to Sakura's. Sakura closed her eyes and melted into the kiss, letting the warmth of Naruto's lips soothe her troubled mind. Naruto lifted Sakura off her feet, and held her at his full height. Their third kiss had been just as powerful as the first two, and in the starry night, it was twice as romantic. Sakura broke the magic for a moment to speak.

"Naruto- I love you- but I love the Hokage..." The magnetism of their passion couldn't be resisted for long, and she returned to his lips before speaking again, "I don't know what to do!"

Naruto guided Sakura back to the ground and swallowed. His body felt like it was on fire, and his heart was beating faster than it ever had before. Keeping his eyes closed, he spoke.

"What... what if you didn't have to chose?" Naruto asked, fear shaking his entire body. Sakura looked at him in utter confusion.

"What are you saying Naruto?"

At the last second, Naruto lost his nerve.

"I... I think you should chose him. You-you'll be happier with him. God... I love you so much. Sakura..."

Naruto wiped the tears from Sakura's eyes before leaping backward off the balcony. She looked down after him, but he was gone.

* * *

><p>Naruto pulled his dark hood over his face, the red flames licked off the brim like actual fire. Behind this black cloak, he was hidden, from Sakura, from Hanzo, from the council. If anyone looked in his direction, he would appear to be nothing more than a tired old war veteran. He had limped into the courtroom, had coughed and choked when he spoke, and gave an assumed name.<p>

"Uzumo Naminaki"

Tsunade had written up all the false paperwork, and Naruto attended the trial as well in the form of a perfectly assembled malevolence clone.

His disguise was seamless.

"... you are accused of attempting assassination on an upstanding member of this community..."

Uzumaki was hardly listening to the trial, his ears were trained for anything out of the ordinary, a blade being unsheathed, a shuriken being spun, anything that would imply another assassination attempt.

"I'm afraid this kangaroo court is over." Hanzo uttered, his voice was hard and cold.

"What are you saying?" An elder asked.

Then, from the ceiling, seven well-armed men dropped down. They all raced toward Sakura. The two guards protecting her were killed quickly enough, but one man in a dark cloak still stood between them in their target.

"Leave her alone." The Hokage spoke behind his disguise.

"Move, or you die." One of the assassins said, at his stand, Hanzo laughed.

"I'm afraid moving isn't an option." From behind the seven killers, Kakashi spoke. He and Guy raced forward, engaging four of the seven assassins.

"No! Kill them! Kill them all!" Hanzo screamed.

"I'm afraid this is one battle you won't win." Sasuke grabbed Hanzo by the collar, throwing him out of the stand and onto the cold floor of the court.

Naruto tore of his black cloak, revealing the flowing white robes of the Hokage.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked. Reaching for his head, Naruto realized that his hood had come down during the removal of his disguise.

"Hey Sakura..." He replied, a nervous smile on his face. Then a kick from one of the assassin's wiped it off.

With that, the real fight began.


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto recovered quickly enough from the kick, but it was hard, and had sent him flying a few feet away from Sakura, giving the assassins an opening.

"Damn!"

He shot the malevolence at the closest killers in the form of large shuriken, but he only hit one, the other two rolled out of the way. Leaping back over to Sakura, he pushed her behind his back.

"Stay behind me." He ordered in the monotone voice of the Hokage. Pulling his hood over his face, his whole persona seemed to change. Sakura nodded behind his back, then remembered that he couldn't see her.

"Okay." She almost whispered.

The remaining two assassins began trying to circle around the Hokage, hoping to get a shot at Sakura while his back was turned. Naruto's malevolence clone ran quickly from his spot on the jury, guarding the Hokage's blind spot.

In the meantime, Kakashi and Guy were handling the other four.

"Just like old times, eh Kakashi old pal?" Guy asked while thrusting a spinning nunchaku handle into an assassin's face.

"Whatever you say Guy." Kakashi pulled up his headband, revealing his sharingan eye. He charged his hand with lightning.

Sasuke held his katana to Hanzo's throat.

"Don't move worm, or you die."

"Please let me go! I have money, you like money, don't you?"

"My hands getting real shaky, you wouldn't want me to slip and spill your blood everywhere, would you?"

Hanzo gulped as his sweat rolled down the blade of the Uchiha.

One of the assassins charged at the clone Naruto, swinging a metal chain that had a large kunai at one end, and a heavy ball at the other. Naruto pushed Sakura back, sending her closer to the Hokage. He wrapped one arm behind himself to hold her close, and formed a malevolence katana in his left hand. The second assassin rushed the Hokage, his fingertips all had blades wrapped around them.

For both Narutos, the fight was short but difficult. When the clone finally cut down his chain-wielding assassin, he had enough holes in him to drain ramen through. The real Naruto wasn't as lucky, if he took as much punishment he wouldn't be anywhere near breathing. The malevolence that crafted the clone would still fight until it had been completely destroyed, making it quite the opponent.

The Hokage pushed Sakura into the arms of the clone, and allowed the final assassin to charge at him. Naruto ended his life, but as soon as the man fell to the ground, the remaining two assassins left Guy and Kakashi and charge at Sakura.

When the malevolence Naruto jumped in front of Sakura, she momentarily forgot he was just a clone, and as the two assassins ripped him to shreds, tears formed in her green eyes.

Kakashi and Guy tried to run and attack the assassins, but Naruto held them back. As the malevolence clone was reduced to almost nothing, Naruto formed a perfect replica of the rasen-shuriken in his right hand. Only instead of chakra and wind, it was made completely of malevolence.

When it hit the two assassins, it obliterated them. When the smoke finally cleared, it was almost like they had never even existed.

Hanzo gulped again.

The Hokage turned to Sakura and embraced her in a warming hug. After a few moments, he released her, and she pulled the hood off of his face.

"So... you really are Naruto." She smiled at her blonde haired warrior and he smiled back.

* * *

><p>"Why the hell didn't you tell me?!"<p>

"I told you I couldn't, didn't I?!"

"Naruto! I should kill you!"

"Can we discuss this later?!"

"No! We are discussing it right now!"

Hanzo sat tied up on the cold floor of the court, watching on helplessly as the two shinobi argued. The council members were at the moment determining his fate, and he prayed that they would decide soon. He couldn't take much more of the torture.

"Sakura, I'll admit it was stupid of me not to tell you, but I was afraid-"

"Oh you were afraid, that makes everything okay!" Sakura said sarcastically, "I've been more conflicted these past few weeks than I've ever been in my life, and you were 'afraid'!"

"Easy for you to say, you had two guys that loved you! I had to make sure I didn't lose just one!"

Guy walked up to Kakashi, who was reading.

"Do they always fight like this?" He asked the copy-cat ninja.

"Well usually Sakura is much more physical, I'm actually very proud of her for controlling her temper." Kakashi answered, not once looking up from his book.

"You IDIOT!" Sakura sent a chakra-charged fist into Naruto's face, sending him flying through the courtroom, and colliding with the wall right next to the door. Just as he made contact, Tsunade walked into the room.

"So I take it she found out?" She asked the dazed Naruto.

"Oh yeah... is my nose broken?"

The ex-hokage ruffled her replacement's hair before walking toward Sakura.

"How did the trial go?"

"Fine." Sakura huffed, crossing her arms.

"Good to hear!" Tsunade walked over to Hanzo, who was apparently trying to suffocate himself, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm trying to pass out so I don't have to listen to those two quarrel."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be asleep forever soon." Tsunade chuckled aloud. Sasuke joined in with the laughter, he always had a sick sense of humor.

Kakashi finished the chapter he was on and closed his book.

"Well I'm off to get something to eat... let me know how this all turns out okay?" He made his way to the door, where Naruto still sat, his head spinning, "See you later Naruto."

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei?"

The copy-cat ninja turned to see Sakura cracking her knuckles, a sinister grin on her face.

"You're crazy if you think you're getting away scot-free... after all, you didn't tell me either."

"Um... okay, but what about Sasuke?" Kakashi pointed at the young Uchiha, who was minding his own business sharpening his sword.

"What about him?" Sakura looked at the boy momentarily, he gave her a confused shrug.

Kakashi was halfway to Sunagakure by the time Sakura turned back to look at him.

**more to come.**


	15. Chapter 15

Naruto's feet dropped down softly on the Haruno's back porch. He cradled Sakura in his arms. She looked up at him and smiled sadly. He was still pretty sure she had broken his nose.

"Why don't you come in?" she asked him.

"I've taken a beating from one Haruno already today, I'm not sure if I can handle three."

"I promise they won't beat you up... I just think we still need to discuss us."

"You need to sleep Sakura," He said, knowing full well what they were going to discuss would be how big of an idiot he was, "I promise in the morning I'll take you to a nice breakfast and we can get this all sorted out, okay?"

"I'd like that... but there's just one problem,"She began, "I'm not talking to Naruto right now, am I?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Naruto, it's almost like you're two different people. The man talking to me right now is the hero I met that day I was almost assassinated, not the boy I've known my whole life."

"Sakura, I'm as Naruto as Naruto will ever be-"

"That's not what I meant..." she said smiling, "I think, that you're so used to being two different people, that the real you is fragmented."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto chuckled at Sakura's ridiculousness.

"I've fallen in love with both halves of you, I want to help you become whole again"

"Sakura, you're being silly..." Naruto stuck his tongue out, but to his surprise she kissed him. When she pulled away, his eyes were shut, and he yearned for more.

"That was for the Hokage." She pulled him close and kissed him aggressively, but before Naruto could thoroughly enjoy it, Sakura pushed him and he fell backwards over the rail, "and that was for my idiot teammate."

Naruto hit the ground with a satisfying thump.

"Don't forget breakfast tomorrow!"

"... I love you." Naruto felt those powerful three words escape from his lips before he had even planned on saying them. For a while all was silent, and he assumed that Sakura had already gone inside.

"I love you too Naruto. See you in the morning." the door shut behind her.

Naruto was ecstatic for the rest of the night, and as he patrolled the village that he loved, he had never felt happier.

* * *

><p>Kakashi sat quietly in the council meeting hall, desperately yearning for the orange book in his back pouch. He had returned to the courtroom a few minutes after Naruto had taken Sakura home, narrowly avoiding the reach of his former student's pink haired wrath. The council was still debating for some reason, no doubt a few of the greedier ones had listened to Hanzo's promises of wealth beyond their wildest dreams.<p>

Thinking about it made Kakashi a little sick.

"Well I don't think it would be fair to kill him... He was a member of our village once, and the poor boy has been blinded by tragedy, he deserves rehabilitation-"

"He deserves execution! Sakura Haruno is one of the greatest assets this village possesses, she has surpassed her master in skills of healing, and she has a very close relationship with our kage!"

Kakashi wanted to read his book so bad, but he knew that he would be violating the respect he owed to the council. Even that was barely enough to keep him from reaching into that pouch and pulling out his little guilty pleasure. Then Sasuke whispered in his ear.

"I can kill him now, then all this arguing will be over, and you can read your book."

If the council hadn't decided right then, Kakashi might've taken Sasuke up on his offer.

"So we shall have a vote? All in favor of execution?"

Both Kakashi and Sasuke raised their hands, Sasuke with sadistic glee on his face, Kakashi with apathetic boredom.

"You're votes have no measure here, this isn't the same trial you were in earlier today." One of the grumpier council men argued.

"Oh, so we can leave?" Kakashi asked eagerly. Mr. Grumpy just frowned at him.

"The majority rules in favor of execution. Court dismissed. The execution will be carried out tomorrow. Kakashi see to it that Hanzo is brought to a cell." The Council leader spoke.

"Sorry boss, I'm retired now." Kakashi pulled out his book and started walking to the door, then Sasuke spoke.

"I'll do it!" Sasuke said. Kakashi could tell his former student had murder in his heart, so reluctantly he had to step in.

"Fine... I'll do it." Kakashi grabbed Hanzo by the collar and escorted him to the holding cells, laughing at the frown on Sasuke's face.

* * *

><p>Sakura awoke to an open window, and a strong breeze blowing into her room. The wind chilled her to the bone, so she wrapped herself in her thick blanket, embracing the warmth of the cotton.<p>

"You're really cute when you're sleeping Sakura."

Sakura jumped, she had neither heard nor seen Naruto enter the room, he must've come through the window while she was still asleep. Had it been anyone but her best friend, she would've found it immensely creepy. Regardless, she threw her closest pillow at Naruto's face.

"Close the window!" She begged, "It's freezing!"

Naruto did as he was told, and when the cold air in the room was finally overpowered by the heater, Sakura sat up on her bed. She was still wrapped in her blanket, and Naruto found the image quite hilarious, and incredibly adorable.

"How are you, beautiful?"

"Still a little cold."

"I can help with that." In a display of courage never before seen, Naruto crawled onto Sakura's bed and wrapped his arms around her. The girl broke into a violent blush.

"Mmmm." She finally said.

"You ready for breakfast?"

"Do I look ready for breakfast?"

"Yeah." Naruto nuzzled his nose into her red cheek, deepening Sakura's blush.

"-w-Well I-I'm not!" She gently shoved Naruto away, and his upper half fell off the bed. Hanging on by only his legs, he spoke,

"Well why not?"

Sakura rolled sideways, dropping slowly onto Naruto's torso, her blanket still covering her like a cocoon.

"I have to get dressed! I have to brush my hair! I have to brush my teeth and shower!"

"In that order?" Naruto joked. Sakura mock punched him in the shoulder.

"You're such a jerk."

"Well what am I suppose to do while you do all this stuff?"

"I donno, what were you doing before I woke up?"

"Watching you sleep."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." She teased, "I'm sorry Naruto but if stalking is the only thing you can do to occupy your time, I can't help you find an alternative."

"I can think of one or two things I'd rather do than stare at you all day..."

Sakura frowned.

"Like what?" She asked, slightly insulted.

"This-" Naruto kissed her on the cheek, "This-"

He kissed her on the other cheek.

"Or this-" He kissed her on the lips. Thoughts of sleep left Sakura's mind in a heartbeat as the electricity from their kiss cleared the fog of early morning waking. After a few minutes, Sakura reluctantly broke off.

"I seriously do need to get dressed Naruto... I'm in my pajamas."

Naruto blushed.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing..."

"No tell me!"

"I think you just saying pajamas was the most adorable thing I ever heard."

Sakura just couldn't resist kissing him again.


	16. Chapter 16

"This breakfast ramen isn't too bad." Naruto said through mouthfuls of egg and bacon topped noodles. He had taken Sakura to a real restaurant, knowing there was no way she would agree to Ichiraku. He was quite pleasantly surprised to find that there was ramen on the menu, and even more excited when he realized it was a flavor he had never tried before. Sakura had gotten to order her real breakfast and Naruto had found an exciting new way to eat ramen. With that and the massive amount of kissing the two had been doing lately, the day was shaping out to be a pretty good one.

"I'm glad you like." Sakura said smiling. Naruto kissed her on the neck, sending chills up her spine, "Naruto, you've never been this affectionate before!'

He nuzzled into her collar bone.

"Would you have let me live past an hour if I had ever done this before?" He rubbed his cheek against her, the warmth from her blush was nice, "It's nice to know that now I can do everything I've ever dreamed of doing with you now."

"Wait," Sakura pushed Naruto away, "What do you mean everything?"

The smile on Naruto's face frightened Sakura.

"Hey guys." Kakashi sat down in in their booth. He had worn his headband for formality's sake during the trial, but had returned to his sunglasses today. His windbreaker was zipped up tight, the breeze must not have died down since Naruto and Sakura came in to eat.

"Hey Kakashi." Naruto said, only slightly peeved that his former sensei had interrupted his breakfast with Sakura.

"Good morning Kakashi." Sakura said cheerfully.

Kakashi nodded at her, not forgetting that there was a large possibility that she was still mad at him.

"What are you doing here Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"I was looking for you two," He cleared his throat, "Hanzo was executed an hour ago. Me and Sasuke were there, he's dead for good. Just thought you should know."

Naruto chewed absentmindedly on his thumb's knuckle. Sakura nodded grimly.

"I've got to debrief Sasuke back at the warehouse... the information he recovered might help us take down that camp with minimal effort. I'll see you at eight alright?"

Naruto nodded, his gaze far off. Kakashi patted him on the shoulder as he left.

"Bye Sakura."

For a few minutes, Naruto and the object of his affections sat in relative silence.

"You ready to go?" He finally asked.

"I lost Naruto again didn't I?"

"I really don't know what you mean Sakura."

"Don't worry about it. Yeah, I'm ready to go, go where though?"

"I'm going to buy you a new apartment."

"What?" Sakura had been compensated by the village for the destruction of her previous lodging, but it had been barely enough to afford one month's rent in a room in the cheapest hotel in the village. So she moved back in with her parents, "Naruto! You don't have to do that!"

"I want to. Besides, I told you I'd take care of you. It's my job."

Sakura kissed Naruto softly on the cheek.

"Whatever you say Mr. Hokage."

* * *

><p>Naruto opened the door to his apartment for Sakura, and sighed as she walked inside. Their day of shopping had been horrible, Sakura hadn't liked a single room they visited, and they went to everyone in the village! She almost seemed like she was completely opposed to getting a new apartment, Naruto had know clue what to do.<p>

"Hmmm..." Sakura said from the kitchen. Naruto slumped down on his couch, neither knowing nor hoping to know what his crazy woman was doing.

"What?" He asked, but she ignored him and walked into the bedroom.

"Hmmm..."

"What?" He turned around, propping himself up on his knees, the couch depressing slightly underneath him. Sakura walked out, nodding.

"Well it's a fixer-upper Mr. Uzumaki, but I'll take it."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had Sakura just proposed to move in with him?

"Sakura, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She looked around helplessly.

"I don't know, this is all moving so fast I-"

Naruto jumped off the couch and moved to her, grabbing her by the arms he pulled her in close.

"That's okay Sakura, I like it fast."

"Yeah? Me too-"

Naruto smashed his lips into Sakura's, pulling her closer to him as he did so. She leaped up as he kissed her, and he held her in midair. Carrying her over to the couch, he dropped her, sat beside her. Her hair in disarray, covered her face.

"How far are we going?" Naruto asked as he leaned into her, closing and reopening the gaps between their mouths as they spoke.

"I don't know."

"I don't want to do anything you aren't comfortable with."

"Nothing you could do would ever make me feel uncomfortable..."

"But?"

"But I'm not sure if we're ready yet."

Naruto nodded into the kiss, and slowly they came to a stopping place.

"You sure your parents will be okay with you moving in?"

"Are you kidding? My mom can't stop talking about blonde haired babies with green eyes, and pink haired babies with blue eyes."

Naruto chuckled, then stood up. He held out his hand, and Sakura placed her much paler one in his. Naruto lifted the love of his life to her feet, and embraced her warmly.

"When do you want to move in."

"Now... right now." Sakura said, her voice muffled in Naruto's chest.

"I'll send some clones to get your stuff..." He brushed her pink hair with his hand.

"No... I need to tell my parents anyway, we'll both go. Okay?" She looked up at him, her green eyes so clear and so beautiful. Like pools of liquid jade. He found himself overcome with emotion.

For as long as he could remember, he had yearned for Sakura more than anything on the planet. He loved her more than anything, more than his dream, more than his nindo, more than ramen. Now that he finally had her, the happiness he felt was immeasurable. He leaned in and kissed her, wishing desperately for a bigger way to express his love.


	17. Chapter 17

Naruto awoke, slowly, groggily, on his stomach. His bed was warmer than he was used to, and a long sleep after two days of unrest always made waking up all the harder. He propped himself up with his hands, then pulled himself around to sit. With one hand he rubbed his eye, and with the other he scratched his chest through his loose-fitting, long sleeved white t-shirt.

He yawned, then stepped out of his bed. He went to the kitchen to fix a bowl of cereal, then returned to his room. From under his covers, something was stirring.

Alarmed, he threw his bowl into the air, and assumed a defensive position. His arms cocked, and his fists ready to fly, he watched warily as Sakura poked her head out from under a sheet.

"Oh yeah."

He dropped his stance and caught the bowl before it hit the ground.

"Morning." He said, scooping a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. He crunched noisily as Sakura rolled over wildly across the bed.

"I didn't know you ate anything other than ramen."

"I like a bowl of normalcy from time to time."

They laughed together. When Naruto had finished his bowl, he changed his pants and put on his shoes.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yep." Naruto knocked on the wall, and a hidden door slid open, revealing a closet with three kage cloaks, "Crime never sleeps, especially during the day."

"How many more trap-doors do you have around here?" Sakura joked.

"Careful when opening the refrigerator." Naruto winked, pulling a cloak out and throwing it on. He pulled the hood over his head, and the transformation was complete. He leaned forward, and kissed Sakura on the forehead. She half frowned at him.

"If I fall into the basement when I go did get a glass of orange juice, I'm not going to be very happy with you."

"Don't be silly, Sakura." Naruto said as he opened the window, "There's another apartment below mine, not a basement."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

><p>Kakashi Hatake leaned against a balcony, his tight windbreaker flapping softly in the breeze. He looked down over the balcony, and saw members of Konoha's militia regulating the flow of the civilian populace. He rubbed his jaw and yawned, he hadn't gotten much sleep lately.<p>

"What's up?" Naruto's voice filled Kakashi's ear.

Turning around, the Hatake saw the Hokage standing in the doorway of the sanctioned apartment.

"Kidnapping. Possible murder."

"After you." Naruto gestured kindly to the open door, and Kakashi shrugged, walking into the ransacked apartment.

"Give me the essentials." Naruto said, following him.

"Well, here's the deal," Kakashi began, "Young girl, reported missing by her parents two days ago. We tracked her last known whereabouts, and discovered she was last seen with this guy..."

Kakashi pointed to a man in a chair, his guts were hanging out of his stomach.

"Seppuku then."

"Yeah." Kakashi said, somewhat struggling.

"Listen, Kakashi... if you don't want to be here, I understand."

"It's okay." Kakashi shook away the memories of his father, "I can handle it."

Naruto grabbed his former sensei by the shoulder and squeezed.

"We still don't know where the girl is, or why this guy offed himself."

Naruto rubbed his face with his hands under his hood.

"Oh, boy." He sighed, "Man, oh man."

Naruto dropped to a knee, and peered at the ground around him. He sniffed, and his foxlike nose alerted him to an inconsistency in the crime-scene.

"Kakashi?"

"Yeah?"

"I think..." Uzumaki began, "I think that there are two different blood-types here."

Kakashi dropped down next to the Hokage and pulled up his sunglasses, staring at the stained carpet with the sharingan.

"AB, and O." Kakashi nodded, "You think one of the types is the girls?"

"She could still be in this room." Naruto stood up quickly, and briskly made his way to the kitchen. He pulled open the dirty refrigerator, but only a jar of jelly, chocolate, and old chicken were inside. He slammed it shut, and heard a yelp.

"H-hello?" He asked, leaning his ear into the refrigerator.

"Hello? Wh-who is it?" A young girl's voice resonated from what seemed like inside the refrigerator.

"Hold on!" Naruto yelled. He pulled the refrigerator away from the wall, revealing a locked door, "Kakashi!"

Using the malevolence, Naruto destroyed the lock on the door.

"Stand back!" He said, just as Kakashi entered the room. Uzumaki kicked the door down, and found himself in a small windowless room. Shackled to a wall, crying, and with a large gash across her cheek, was their kidnapped girl. She was convulsing with sobs.

Naruto awkwardly wrapped strong arms around her, and lifted her up.

"Go get the family."

"Naruto, there's still a lot of stuff we have to do before we can release her-"

"Get her family, Kakashi. Now."

The copy-cat nodded in understanding, and with lightning speed took off. Naruto followed him out of the apartment, but Kakashi was long gone by the time he broke back into the daylight.

He walked the girl down the stairs of the building, she cried into his arms the whole time. When he finally reached the ground where the militia were patrolling, he realized that a crowd had formed. He could not disappear, and leave the girl in her blood and tears, abandoned, carrion for the militia, and the crowd. Instead he stood their until Kakashi returned with the parents, a statue amongst the whispers and accusations of the crowd.

"Who is he?"

"Why is he dressed like the Hokage?"

"Why aren't the militia questioning him?"

Kakashi found his way to the front of the crowd, leading the way for the frantic parents before fading back into obscurity.

"Our baby!"

Naruto quickly gave the girl to her crying mother.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" The father shook his hand furiously, and Naruto nodded to him.

The father turned his attention back to his child, and when he looked over at the cloaked man to thank him once more, Uzumaki had vanished.

* * *

><p>Sakura opened the door after her shift at the hospital, to find Naruto's apartment silent.<p>

"Naruto?" She called, setting her groceries down on the kitchen table, "Are you home? I got some _real_ food. Are you there?"

She walked in the bedroom, to find Naruto fast asleep. She sighed, and laid down next to him.

"Hhrmm." He mumbled.

"Hurm to you too."

"How was work?" He asked, not moving anything but his mouth.

"Good, you?"

"Oh, just another day in the life of the Hokage." Naruto smiled sheepishly, "Good deeds, and whatnot."

"Oh, I see." Sakura chuckled, "Are you going to be asleep for much longer?"

"Just a few more minutes, for some reason, I'm especially tired today." He nuzzled his nose into the mattress, and Sakura rubbed his blonde hair.

"I love you." She said, lightly kissing his cheek.

"Love you too." He said, before falling back asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

Naruto Uzumaki watched the sun set from the balcony of his apartment, his Hokage cloak bundled up under his arm. He had just woken up from his short nap, and was preparing himself for the night-shift.

Suddenly, he felt thin arms wrap around his chest.

"Hey." She said from behind him.

"Sakura, I have to get going soon." He replied.

"Yeah, I know. It's just-" She clamped down on the last of her words.

"Just what?"

"I had gotten used to the excitement again, team seven back together again, it was like I was a real ninja again." She said, burying her face into Naruto's back.

Naruto chuckled, "You're still a ninja, Sakura."

"The stuff the village has me doing now just doesn't compare to the old stuff, not even the really old stuff. The hardest mission I've been on doesn't even compete with the Land of Waves mission." She sighed, "And the easier missions are no better than finding lost cats."

Naruto laughed harder, then sighed, "Well, you can join the team if you want."

Sakura gasped, "You mean it?!"

"Well sure," He said, "Why not? Of course you'd be welcome on team Hokage!"

"Oh, Naruto... that means so much to me." She said, pulling him into a kiss.

"We can talk more about it when I get back, okay?" Naruto stuck his arms through the sleeves in his coat and pulled the hood down over his face, his voice assumed the monotone humor of the Hokage, "I love you."

He backflipped down from the balcony and landed on the dirt road below. It was dark now, and the streets were mostly clear, but he still had reason to remain vigilant. He began tiptoeing carefully down the street, when suddenly:

"I love you too!" Sakura screamed from above, leaning over the balcony and scaring the crap out of Naruto. He jumped almost a yard off the ground. Sakura burst into laughter.

"Sakura!" Naruto whined in a voice that was purely his own, "I'm trying to be sneaky!"

"I'm sorry!" Sakura said through her laughter, "I'll go inside!"

Naruto heard her laughter even after the door closed, but it was muffled enough so that it only slightly bugged him. He trekked on, trying less hard to be inconspicuous than before.

His patrol went on for a few hours without incident, but as he turned a corner near the Ichiraku ramen stand, the shrill cry of a child filled his ears. He took off sprinting toward the source of the sound, and quickly found a small boy tied to a pole, crying loudly.

Naruto's stomach turned, who on earth would do such a thing?

He formed a malevolence dagger in his left hand and sliced the ropes, catching the falling boy with his right.

"Who did this to you?" Naruto asked, his voice cool and comforting.

"Please mister, they have my mom!" The child begged, mucus and tears dripping down his face, "Please!"

"Who? Where?" Naruto asked, trying his best to comfort the child and divulge the information.

The kid pointed to a red door on the side of a two-story building, "In there."

Naruto nodded without asking the kid any further questions, "You stay here, okay?"

The boy nodded and continued sobbing.

Naruto walked silently toward the building, his hands flexed outward at his sides. He pressed his side against the wall beside the door, and listened intently through the wall. He heard nothing except for the muffled sobs of a woman.

Growling, he kicked the door down and stepped foot into an almost empty room. In the centre, beneath a dim and flickering lightbulb, a woman was tied to a chair. She was screaming beneath a layer of tape. Uzumaki quickly walked over to her, and gently pulled the tape off.

She yelled out the last half of a warning, "-AP!"

_'Shit.'_

Something large and heavy slammed into the back of Naruto's head, sending him sprawling to the ground. His hood fell down, and he heard someone shout.

"Aw look, he's a blondie, can't be that tough."

He was wrong of course, and as the man who spoke bent over to grab Naruto, the Uzumaki spun around and slashed his face with a malevolence blade.

"Ah! Sonofa-son...of..." The man passed out from blood loss in a matter of seconds, but that didn't matter, because Naruto was surrounded.

He kipped up to his feet, and formed malevolence kama in each of his hands, but before he could defend himself a large board crashed into his back, shattering on impact and sending him back to the ground.

This time the men were prepared, and began to beat Naruto relentlessly until he finally blacked out.

* * *

><p>When he awoke, he was seated at a dirty table, and his hands were bound in the strangest looking metal he had ever seen. He was dazed, and partially blinded by the light in the room, but he tried nonetheless to break the metal with malevolence. For some reason, he couldn't focus long or hard enough to manipulate any energy.<p>

"I don't think you'll be escaping anytime soon, Kage."

Naruto jumped at the voice, and tried to focus his eyes in on the source.

Sitting in front of him was a small man in a blood red shirt and a black trench coat, "That metal is called, 'Benevolence' and it was manufactured by yours truly for one reason."

Naruto looked on as the man pulled out a knife made of the same metal as his handcuffs.

"To kill people like you."

Naruto's eyes widened and he sprinted out of his chair, only to be pulled swiftly back by a chain that bound him to the table. The table itself was bolted into the floor.

"You can try to run, so far all of you have."

"What?!"

"Oh, you didn't think you were the first Kage we've targeted did you? You aren't the only one with a price on their head... you just happen to have the biggest price."

Naruto shook his head in defiance, "No, there's no way you could kill us."

"Didn't I already tell you?" The small man said, "This metal blocks out your powers! It is such an opposite to the forces inside you, that it repels any energy you put out and extinguishes it. As if it never existed!"

"How?"

"Beats me." The man shrugged, "We found the metal in a crater made after the Tsuchikage destroyed some mercenary fortress outside the rock village. Some how his malevolence melded the metal in the walls of the building into this stuff, and when the Tsuchikage tried to help with the clean-up, he found he couldn't move any of the rubble!"

Naruto flinched.

"And me, being the ambitious mercenary that I am, decided to take this 'metal' and turn it into what it was meant to be! A weapon!" The small man laughed, "And we killed the Tsuchikage in his sleep."

Naruto's stomach did a backflip, "No."

"Yessir. And with the money we got from killing him, we were able to make better weapons, and decided to come after you." The man laughed even louder, "Don't worry though, with the price on your head, I'll probably retire after this."

Naruto collectively inhaled and exhaled, "How do your people know you killed the right man, couldn't you just find someone who has blond hair and put them in my clothes, kill them instead?"

"Are you trying to propose an alternative? Because I'm telling you right now, I'm going to kill you."

Naruto shook his head, "No, I'm just curious."

"Huh. Well, our contractors usually have photographs of the victims, and like to identify you based on your pretty little mug."

"Oh," Naruto said smiling, "So if they can't make out my face, you wouldn't get paid?"

The small man stared at Naruto, quizzically, "Why are you asking?"

Naruto started head-butting the table as hard as he could, ramming every part of his face he could into the hard metal. His nose was pulverized after the second or third consecutive hit, and his eyes started to swell shut.

"Hey! You bastard cut that out!" The man jerked the Uzumaki out of the chair and kicked him hard in the ribs.

Naruto laughed a hoarse and wounded laugh.

"You think you're smart, don't you?" The small man sneered, "Well I'm in no particular hurry. We'll just wait till the swelling goes down. Then I'll kill you."

Naruto spat out a healthy amount of blood, "Looking forward to it."

The small man angrily stormed out of the room, and Naruto heard the door lock behind him.


	19. Chapter 19

"Where is Naruto?"

Sakura sat before Kakashi, her whole being disheveled from hours of restless insomnia. When Naruto hadn't stopped by at 3am after trading shifts with Kakashi, she grew worried. But she had given the Uzumaki the benefit of the doubt, and stayed up waiting for him until six. It was seven o'clock now, and she had managed to track down Kakashi, who was staring at her with regretful ignorance.

"You don't know, do you?" She asked.

He sadly shook his head, "He never reported to the headquarters, and he wasn't at the monument either."

"The monument? Why would he go there?"

"He likes to think on the heads of his physical and positional ancestors from time to time," Kakashi cleared his throat, "Also, we have a secondary base of operations hidden above the village refuge center."

Sakura exhaled quickly, impressed by the level of interconnectedness Team Hokage had with the village, "You sure he wasn't there?"

"Yes. There was no sign of anyone having been there in several months." Kakashi frowned, "We have moles hidden throughout the village, and none of them have reported seeing Naruto since he left his apartment, well, your apartment."

Sakura cursed under he breath, "Well what do we do?"

"Sasuke and Guy are as of now interrogating the higher levels of Konoha's seedy underbelly... I figured that why they do that, we could scour the streets for any sign of our missing leader."

* * *

><p>Naruto Uzumaki sat slumped onto a table in the middle of a brightly lit, white-walled room. His face was swollen, practically unrecognizable, and blood coated his white and red cloak. He could barely see out from beneath the swelling around his eyes, and he found it hard to breath with his broken nose and busted lips. He could barely afford to groan because his lungs were struggling to supply him with enough air to stay awake.<p>

His mind too was working overtime, searching desperately for a means of escape.

**"Need any help?"** A voice long thought assimilated with his own filled Naruto's head.

"Kurama?" Naruto replied, but no sooner had the name left his mouth then he realized the nine-tailed fox was not who he was speaking to.

**"Who says you can't just form malevolence somewhere else? Where's the rule you can't form it in your foot, or your elbow?" **Naruto asked himself in the voice of the Hokage.

"I don't know... my hands have always been the source, it came naturally. Like a hand-sign, or the rasengan."

**"Just because you've never done something before, doesn't mean it's impossible." **Naruto reminded himself, **"Just try it. Focus."**

"I'll give it a shot." Naruto took as a deep a breath as he could, and closed his swollen eyelids.

His first attempt to summon malevolence in a place other than his hands was centralized in his elbows, but he failed to draw so much as a spark of energy. So he changed tactics, instead trying his hardest to create a malevolence tendril akin to the tails of chakra he used to grow before he lost his jinchuriki powers. He concentrated as hard as he could for several minutes, and was about to give up when he felt a feint line of malevolence extend from beneath his right shoulder blade.

**"There! Now hold it, don't lose it! Concentrate harder, harness it into something thicker, something you can use as a weapon."**

Sweat dripped down Naruto's beaten face as he focused everything he had into shaping the malevolence.

* * *

><p>"Kakashi?" Sakura asked her former sensei.<p>

"Yes?" He answered.

They were on the streets of Konoha, looking for any signs of Naruto's whereabouts, and Sakura had noticed something amiss, "Do you see that boy over there?"

"The one crying in the corner?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, what do you think his story is?" Sakura asked, worried about the child's well-being, but suspicious of his actions.

The two walked over to the boy, and Kakashi adressed him, "Hello ther-"

"Don't kill me!" The boy screamed, "They had my mom! They made me do it!"

Sakura turned to Kakashi, and they exchanged a knowing nod, she asked the boy "Where are they?"

"In there." The boy pointed to a nearby door, and Sakura and Kakashi sprinted toward it.

"I think discretion is our best be-" Kakashi's words were cut off as Sakura knocked the door down with a powerful kick.

"Let's go." Sakura uttered grimly as she dashed into the building, Kakashi following shortly behind her.

Upon entering the room they found themselves confronted by four men sitting in metal chairs holding large bats.

"I'll take the ones on the right," Kakashi said as the men stood up, "You get the two on the-"

Sakura darted toward the men on the right, sending a fist through the closest man's chest and kicking the other toward his companions. He fell into the men on the left with outrageous force, sending all three of them into the opposing wall. When they hit the ground, they didn't move, and Sakura didn't bother to check if they were still breathing.

"He's here somewhere." Sakura said, not even breathing heavy.

"Uh..." Kakashi was open-jawed and speechless. He had forgotten how temperamental Sakura could become.

"There's only one door, let's go." Sakura opened the door and found herself in a brightly lit white room. At first glance there was only a table and two chairs in the room, but as Kakashi walked in, a dead body slumped out from behind the table. He was a short man, painted in what must have been his own blood.

"That isn't Naruto." Kakashi said quietly.

"No shit." Sakura answered angrily, "So where is he?"

"Here." A gruff faint voice called.

Sakura and Kakashi turned around to see a hand-cuffed Naruto sitting on the right side of the doorframe, his face was a swollen mess of bruised skin and dried blood. Sakura rushed to him, dropping to her knee and charging her fingers with chakra, "What happened?"

"It's a long story... could you get these handcuffs off me?" Naruto asked.

"You can't do it yourself?" Kakashi leaned forward and broke them off with a blast of electric chakra.

Naruto shook his head, "That metal is malevolence proof. Somehow. They killed the Tsuchikage with it..."

"Oh my god." Sakura said, slowly healing Naruto's face, "How did you escape?"

"I figured out how to summon malevolence through my back instead of my hands... it was hard, but I was able to kill the leader when he came back for me. I was over by the door to kill anyone who came in," Naruto coughed, "But I probably wouldn't have lasted long. It's a good thing you guys came along."

Naruto coughed up blood and splattered Sakura's face with it.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry!" He said.

Sakura used the front flap of her skirt to wipe off the blood and smiled sadly at Naruto, "That's okay."

Naruto sulked none the less.

"We should get you to a hospital." Sakura said, standing up.

"No! No hospital, I'm a retired ninja, remember? How could I explain this?" Naruto protested.

"If we can sneak you into Tsunade's office then she can set up an empty room just for you, I'll guard it while Sakura fixes you up." Kakashi offered.

"Good idea." Sakura said.

"Fine..." Naruto said, "But burn this cloak just in case."

Sakura helped Naruto remove the robe, and Kakashi incinerated it with a fireball jutsu.

"Can you walk?" She asked him.

"Yeah." Naruto replied, standing up.

"You sure?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded once and walked out the door.


End file.
